Coins

Pontus and Paflagonian Coinage in the Late Republic and the Early Empire Already before the annexation of northern Asia Minor by the Romans, the cities of Pontus (around 12 of them) produced their own bronze currencies, which circulated throughout the region. Most of the types on these coins include Mithridatic connotations based on the association of the royal line with the God Dionysus. During the period immediately before the Roman annexation (85-65 BC), we observe a profusion of 12 different... »

Christmas is time for deep reflection on the past and happy thoughts for the future. At least for me! I always use the free time to understand better what I achieved so far, and what I would like to target in the future. For some disturbing reason, this year I decided to return to the past! As a historian, it would seem to be the obvious choice for many. And yet, it is not the obvious choice for me. For the past year I was dealing almost exclusively with innovative companies. In a sense, ... »

It is almost a year since George Kakavas became the Director of the Numismatic Museum in Athens. Admittedly, when he first took the post, I had my reservations. After all, he is not a numismatist but he has a background in Archaeology and History of Art. Since then I followed closely the changes that took place in the museum. A year later I am happy to say that, despite the economic crisis, some amazing developments are happening! Kakavas proved himself up to the task and pushed forward the part... »

Last week I took my students to visit the Heberden room in the Ashmolean museum in Oxford. The visit was organised in collaboration with the Keeper of Coins and Medals, Prof. Chris Howgego. As you probably already know Chris is an expert of Roman coins and the successful author of several books and articles on the subject. Before I even start describing the experience, I would like to express my gratitude to the Ashmolean staff for all their help and support on this educational trip. I know very... »

I am bloging from cloudy Rome, where I participated in the Conference on the infamous MIsurata Hoard. The hoard comes from the wider area of Misurata in Libya and consists of around 107.000 low denomination coins. The last coin in the hoard is dated in 333 AD. During the conference we came to the conlcusion that this is a unique, one of its kind hoard. And yet, it can be compared with other finds from northern Africa, Italy, even the Balkans. Most of the papers focused on the circulation of coin... »

Last September I visited Rumania and participated in a conference on The Book. Our panel presented papers on the Balkan armies and coins, most of them in relation to Rumania. If you wantto watch any of the papers, just follow the links below. I wish every conference provided the facilities for short videos just as those. I am also a big fun of online conferences, since they allow the participation of hundreds of people… potentially. Oleg Alexandrov http://simpozion2011.bibliotecametropolit... »

“THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ATHENS POSTGRADUATE TRAINING COURSE IN GREEK NUMISMATICS A. G. Leventis Foundation Student Bursaries The BSA is pleased to announce a number of A. G. Leventis bursaries (of up to full fees) to allow students to attend the two-week postgraduate course in Greek Numismatics 20th May – 3rd June 2012. The deadline for course applications is January 31st. Coins are an essential source of primary evidence for all students of the ancient world – historians, archaeologi... »

“Most researchers believe that Egypt was the only closed currency system in the Roman world, e.g. a system in which the fluctuation of currency is restricted due to strict governmental control. In actual fact, there is another well developed closed currency system in the east, the provinces of wider Syria. The local silver coinage, the tetradrachm, was used exclusively in the markets of the Syrian cities. Their complete absence from excavations in neighbouring Asia Minor and Cyprus is prom... »

Because of radical changes in my life, it has been almost a month since I posted anything in my blog. My fighting spirit seems to be returning with a vengeance and I am preparing myself for several worthwhile debates. One piece of news that may interest you is the publication of my monograph on The Roman Monetary System. The book has been published by Cambridge University Press in February but I had a chance to look at it only last week. The description at the back of the cover seems to be accur... »

Ursula Kampmann has announced that 44 greco-roman coins have been stolen from the University of Tubingen on 24/1//2010. The announcement has been posted in Coins Weekly News, where you may be able to find the relevant photos. I include here part of the announcement for your information. “On November 24, 2010 the staff of the archaeological seminary / Tübingen had to inform the police that 44 ancient coins – mainly gold – had been stolen. Fortunately photos of most of the coins ... »